Three people could be facing jail after UEA Norwich burglary and theft

Two men and a teenager have been warned they could be jailed after stealing equipment worth £1,700 from a room at the UEA in Norwich.

Paul Fountain, 21, from Russet Grove, and Liam Catchpole, 18, from Gipsy Lane, both in Earlham, Norwich, appeared before Norwich magistrates yesterday and pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling and theft on November 11.

Prosecutor, Denis King said the building on the UEA grounds was accessed by an open door and an Apple MacBook Air and Apple 1Pad3 were stolen.

It happened in the early hours of November 11, and Mr King said: “The resident of the room, who is a student, left the door at her ground floor flat ajar. Two hours later she returned to find the items missing. They had been taken through a window. The two defendants were identified from CCTV footage and interviewed.

“Fountain said that he was the look-out when the others went in the room and saw two items with Chinese writing on them being removed.”

Simon Nicholls, for both defendants, said: “These two defendants made admissions to the police at the first opportunity. The irony is that neither was set to benefit from the burglary. They were stupid enough to go along with older and wiser individuals and just stand there. One said that he would have whistled if somebody had come along. I think it’s a lesson both have learned.”

The case was adjourned for sentencing to January 4, and an all-options report including custody was ordered.

A 16-year-old from Norwich, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also pleaded guilty to the same offence. He was remitted to the youth court where his case was adjourned to January 8 for reports. He was warned by district judge Kenneth Sheraton that he was looking at a custodial sentence.

Kevin Hadlow, 39, from Northfields, Earlham, and a 16-year-old from Norwich, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.